Part of what makes this episode so terrifying is in the name itself. In order to test Buffy's skills, the Watcher's Council forces Giles to incapacitate her slayer abilities, leaving her utterly helpless. She must pass the test by slaying a particularly lethal vampire, but the whole thing doesn't go as planned. Completely defenseless, Buffy is stalked by a psychotic killer who kidnaps her mom. This music alone in "Helpless" — minimal, bare, eerie, and sing-song — is enough to creep anyone out, but it's the cat and mouse game Zachary Kralik, the crazy vamp, plays with Buffy that makes the whole thing particularly suspenseful.
